The Promise of Palm Grove (15 page)

Edmund was none of those things.

Naomi, on the other hand, had been concerned when Leona had never seemed anxious to be alone with her fiancé.

As for her other sister, Rosanna? Well, Rosanna would no doubt simply shake her head in mild frustration. She'd always thought Leona was flighty and more than a bit impulsive.

But that said, even Rosanna had come over after Leona announced her engagement. She'd poured them both big mugs of hot tea and then proceeded to ask Leona all sorts of questions about her relationship with Edmund. Now that everything with Edmund was over, Leona remembered how concerned Rosanna had been about Edmund's opinions on marriage. Edmund had been fairly vocal about how Leona was expected to always follow his advice and directives.

“My
mamm
is surprised,” Sara blurted. “I called her today.”

“Oh? What did she say?”

“About what you would think. That maybe you've let the sunshine and palm trees get to your head a little bit.”

Leona was a little hurt by that remark. “How did you respond to that?”

For the first time, Sara looked a little embarrassed. “I told her it was fairly obvious that you and Edmund weren't a
gut
match.” Reaching out, she clasped Leona's hand. “I meant what I said last night, Le. I always am on your side.”

“I really did try to make it work, Sara. I wanted to be happy with Edmund. At first, I thought I really could be.”

“I know you did. And I'm sorry I sounded so judgmental. It's just that I don't understand what you are doing here in Sarasota with Zack. Are you sowing wild oats or something?”

“I'm simply having fun.”

“But why reach out to a man like Zack?”

“Why wouldn't I want to reach out to a man like him? He's pretty wonderful.”

“He also lives in Pinecraft. Nothing can come of you two becoming close.”

“You don't know what the Lord has in store for us,” Leona reminded her cousin. “I tell you what, I'm glad we're talking, and you're feeling free to be so honest. I really am glad about that. But I hope you aren't planning to be mad at me for the rest of our trip.”

Immediately, Sara looked ashamed. “I'm not.” Then she whispered, “I think I'm jealous.”

Leona was stunned. “Jealous of what?”

“Of you.”

“Me? Oh, come on, Sara. My life is obviously a mess.”

“
Nee,
I'm serious. People like you, Le. They always have.”

“They like you, too.”

“I know. But they don't gravitate toward me like they do to you. Listen, girls always want to be your friend. And boys, well, they always think you're cute. Your parents only want your happiness. The first night here, why even a cat ran to you! You had a perfectly good fiancé and you were willing to risk that relationship . . . and here you're already thinking about a new boy. It's never been that way for me.”

Leona knew it hadn't. Sara was reserved and smart. Really smart. Because of that, she didn't always have patience for schoolgirl silliness or grown-woman silliness, either.

But she was pretty, too. While Leona's blond hair, brown eyes, and average figure made her look like everyone's next-door neighbor, Sara was pretty in a way that made people look at her twice. Her hair was dark, almost black, and she had light blue eyes, creamy skin, and a delicate frame. Leona and Mattie used to tease Sara, saying she looked like one of the girls on the covers of the Amish romances.

They'd thought it was a great compliment.

Sara had not.

“Sara, you are really pretty and really smart. I've seen many a man look like he was preparing himself to talk to you, then chickening out.”

“Why would they chicken out?”

“Because if they said something dumb, there was a mighty
gut
chance that you would look at them like they were foolish.”

“I don't do that.” Her voice was full of protest, but there was a high note at the end of it, which led Leona to believe that Sara knew exactly what she was talking about.

Deciding that they should definitely be done with this conversation, Leona chuckled. “Can we go inside now and eat a scone or something? I'm starving.”

Sara grabbed her arm. “They have lemon meringue tarts.”

Leona groaned. “I love it here. I could move in here,” she said as they walked through the front door.

“If there was a chance that I'd eat food like this at every meal, I could, too,” Sara said with a laugh. “Of course, I'd probably be as big as a whale.”

After Leona ran to her room to get cleaned up, she felt light on her feet again.

At least it looked like things with Sara had been smoothed over. Now all she had to do was figure out what to do with the ink on her hand. She was pretty sure Sara wasn't going to think it was adorable.

Actually, she was very sure about that.

D
anny knocked on Zack's front door at a quarter to seven. The moment Zack opened it, Danny strode in, his expression serious.

“Zack, we have to talk about something.”

“You look so serious, I guess we do,” he replied as he led the way into the kitchen. “We're going to have to talk in here, though. I was helping Effie with her homework and we're not finished yet.”

“Hey, Ef,” Danny said, plopping down in a chair next to her. “What are you working on?”

She frowned. “Long division.”

“Ugh.”

“I'm not real fond of it, either, but I'm getting better at it. Plus, I'm almost done.” Looking Zack's way, she said, “You know, I can finish my problems on my own. You don't need to sit with me.”

“Nope. I promised Daed that I'd double-check your answers.”

She sighed and started scribbling on her paper again.

After sharing a commiserating look with Danny, Zack motioned toward the back porch. “Let's sit out here.”

“Perfect,” Danny said.

Before he joined his friend, Zack said to Effie, “Bring me your paper when you're done.”

“But—”

“Don't argue. I told you I wanted to do something tonight, which means we've got to get your homework done first.”

“What do you want to do?” Danny asked from his seat outside on the patio.

“He wants to go see Leona,” Effie called out before Zack could answer. “Even though they saw each other at the beach today.”

Zack said nothing, wishing he'd acted just a little bit more reserved the first few minutes after Effie had gotten off the bus. Instead of keeping his thoughts to himself, he'd been practically grinning like a fool when he'd said hello to Effie.

Now he was going to hear about how foolish he was acting from his best friend.

But instead of bursting out in laughter, Danny looked relieved.

“Effie, do your homework,” Zack said, before leading the way outside.

After the door closed, Danny said, “I don't know how you do it, looking after your sister all the time.”

“She's a good kid. It's not hard.”

“She's great. And she's tough, too. I read up on Perthes disease once and the books said it can be really painful. But she never complains.”

“She never complains about her legs and hips. About long division and her spelling words? She complains a lot.”

Danny grinned.

“So what brought you over here? We saw each other at the beach today, too.”

“I wanted to talk to you about Leona's friend Mattie.”

“What about her?”

“I think I really like her. When I walked her back to the Orange Blossom Inn, it felt like we'd only been together an hour instead of all day. I actually told her I wanted to see her again soon.”

“Oh. That's all?”

“‘That's all?' Ah, Zack, Mattie lives in Ohio.”

“Believe me, I know exactly how you're feeling. I feel the same way about Leona.”

“Are you two serious?”

“Of course not. I mean, we just met.” However, it was becoming pretty obvious to him that he already was serious about her. His heart didn't especially seem to care that falling in love with a recently engaged girl who lived almost a thousand miles away was a really bad idea.

Danny kept staring, looking skeptical. “So are you going to tell me the truth, now? I've never seen you act this way about any woman. Are you two serious?”

Zack squirmed under his scrutiny and realized that he was going to have to be completely honest. “We could be.”

Danny nodded. “
Gut
.”

“
Gut
? This isn't
gut
. I have responsibilities here.”

“Maybe she'll want to live here. Or maybe you'll want to leave some of those responsibilities and think about moving to Ohio.”

“I couldn't do that.”

“Zack, I'm not trying to kick you out of my life, but what, really, is keeping you here?”

“My sister, this family. I have obligations.”

“Everyone
is
leaning on you, but I can promise that your parents didn't decide to have four children so one of you could take care of everything.” Lowering his voice, he said, “It's time, Zack. It's time to realize that you can't live your life by putting everything you want on hold. Not even Effie would want you to do that.”

“What would I not want you to do?” Effie asked from the doorway, startling them both.

Danny kept his back to Effie but closed his eyes in silent mortification as Zack got to his feet. “Nothing. Danny and I were just talking.”

She stepped forward. “Are you talking about you having to live here?”

“We were just talking,” Zack replied. “You shouldn't have been eavesdropping. Everything that happens in this house isn't your business.”

Hurt shone in her eyes. “I wasn't eavesdropping. I was coming out here to tell you that I finished my math problems.”

“Okay.” He held out a hand. “Give your paper to me and I'll look over it in a minute.”

“You know, it's okay if you don't look it over, Zack,” she replied. “I never asked you to give up your life for me. I can't believe you're using me as an excuse to keep from doing what you want.”

Zack could feel the muscles in his jaw jump. “We'll talk about this later, Effie.”

But instead of answering, she turned and walked to her room. And though her steps were stiff and ungainly, Zack couldn't help but notice that she was pretty steady on her feet.

When she was out of sight, he sighed. “Great.”

Danny looked behind him. “How about I go talk to her?”

“No. I've got this.”

Danny shook his head slowly. “You know what? I don't think you do. Let me go talk to her. I have four sisters, remember? I won't mess this up.”

Because he was suddenly tired—really tired—Zack nodded. “Fine. Go ahead.” Then he sat down as Danny strode inside, walked down the hall, and knocked on Effie's door.

When he heard his sister let him in, Zack thrust out his legs and tilted his head back.

It looked like he was going to need to stay home instead of visit Leona. Once again, he needed to put his family first and his wants second.

He loved his family. Helping out when he could was the right thing to do. But at the moment, he wished doing the right thing wasn't so hard.

“H
EY
,” D
ANNY SAID
as he walked into Effie's room. After scanning the room and pausing for a moment on her, he leaned back against the wall next to the open door. “You mad at me?”

“Nee.”

“A little bit?”

“Nee.”

“Then why are you crying?”

“Because I didn't ask for my legs to get some disease. And I never asked for my brother to give up everything in order to take care of me.”

“I think everyone knows that.”

Now Effie felt like she'd not only been a lot of trouble, but a whiny brat, too. Swiping at her eyes with the side of a fist, she sat up on the bed. “Danny, am I really the reason Zack doesn't have a girlfriend?”

“I don't think he's ever had a serious girlfriend because, until recently, no girl has ever interested him.”

“He really likes Leona.”

Danny nodded. “I think so. But that isn't why I came in here to talk to you.” He sighed. “I'm sorry about what you overheard, but the problem isn't you. It's your brother. He's the type of guy who really likes being needed, but he's also the type of person who doesn't seem to mind being in a rut. For some reason, he likes putting himself second.” He rolled his eyes. “Or third. Or fourth. I was kind of trying to encourage him to start taking chances.”

“Do you think it worked?”

“I don't know. But I do know that I'd feel really bad if I hurt your feelings. You're a sweet girl, Effie.”

“
Danke,
Danny. I'm fine. And I think you did the right thing. Zack doesn't do much for himself.”

Her brother's best friend stared hard at her for another long moment, then at last nodded. “
Gut
.”

When he walked out, Effie examined her legs and thought about everything that had been happening lately.

It seemed that Zack wasn't the only person in the family in a rut. She'd been in one, too. It was time to reach out a little more, to not assume that she couldn't change her life, or change the way people viewed her.

Effie vowed to have a talk with her mother when she got home. She was going to remind her that she was twelve and more than old enough to have her fair share of chores and responsibilities. It was time for her to start standing on her own two feet. She should be able to do that—she had some really good braces on her legs, after all.

I
hereby proclaim today ‘Do Nothing in Pinecraft Day,'” Mattie called out from her bed. “I'm exhausted.”

Turning over onto her side, Leona gazed through the sheer curtains that covered the window. When she noticed that raindrops were steadily sprinkling the glass, she said, “Since it's raining, I think that's a
wonderful-gut
idea.”

“We'll need to find lunch, though,” Sara said, “since we slept through breakfast. I'm starving.”

“You should've eaten last night,” Mattie chided.

“You were eating pizza at almost midnight. That was a recipe for a stomach ache.”

“Not for me,” Mattie muttered. “I thought it tasted great, and I'm not hungry.”

Leona flipped over on her back and closed her eyes, happy to let her girlfriends' bickering float over her.

They'd been in Pinecraft now for over a week. They only had five more days, then they were going to have to pack up, get on the bus, and leave sunny Florida.

The idea of leaving felt almost painful, and the truth was that she didn't want to go. She didn't want to leave this inn, or the happy times she'd shared with Sara and Mattie.

Most of all, she didn't want to leave Zachary Kaufmann. Opening her palm, she stared at his phone number before making a fist again. So far, neither Sara nor Mattie had spied Zack's writing on her hand. That was good, because it had been written in a permanent marker and was likely to be there for a while.

Kind of like Zack's impression on her heart, she realized, somewhat dreamily. Even if she tried to get rid of him, it was going to take a lot of work to erase him from her life.

“Leona, you're ignoring us,” Mattie said. “Are you seriously trying to get back to sleep?”

“Nee.”

“I know what Leona's doing,” Sara said to Mattie. “She's thinking about Zack.”

Leona couldn't deny it, though she didn't particularly want to talk about just how often Zack occupied her mind, either. “I'm not thinking about anything,” she lied.

“Come on, Le. We all know that you're thinking about a certain brown-haired, blue-eyed man with mighty appealing dimples. What are you going to do about him?” Sara asked.

Leona stretched before propping herself up on her elbows. “I don't know.”

“Has he acted like he doesn't want you to leave?”

“He hasn't said as much, but I wouldn't expect him to. It's not like there's anything I could do about it even if he asked me to stay here every hour,” she admitted. “No matter what happens in Pinecraft, we're going to be getting on that bus in just a couple of days.”

“Well, I don't want to. And Danny doesn't want me to go,
either,” Mattie said. Preening a bit, she added, “Unlike his friend Zack, he hasn't been shy about telling me his feelings.”

“Oh, brother,” Sara groaned.

Leona grinned. “I'm glad about that. You deserve to be happy, Mattie.”

“You do, too.”

“I am happy.”

“You don't look all that happy. Actually, you look pretty tired,” Sara quipped. “I've never seen you so eager to laze about, Leona.”

“There's nothing wrong with being lazy,” Leona protested. “And I'm happy enough. For sure. I just happen to be a lot more sleepy.” She was also content to sit quietly and recall every moment she'd spent in Zack's company. The way he'd made her laugh. The way his attention made her feel like she was the only girl in the world.

Mattie merely smiled. “You look smitten, that's what you look like.”

“Takes one to know one,” Leona retorted.

Two raps at their door interrupted their laughter. “Girls, excuse me, but I think I need to talk to you.”

“That's Miss Beverly's voice,” Sara whispered. “Just a minute,” she called out as all three of them grabbed their robes and threw them on over their T-shirts and pajama bottoms.

When they were all decent, Sara opened the door. “Is anything wrong?” she asked. “Were we too loud?”

“Loud? Oh, goodness, no,” Miss Beverly said as she stepped just inside the door. “But, uh, I've just returned from meeting this morning's Pioneer Trails bus.”

“Yes?” Mattie asked, her puzzled tone pretty much conveying the other girls' feelings.

Looking like she was preparing for battle, Beverly turned to Leona. “Dear, it seems you have a visitor.”

“We aren't expecting anyone,” Leona said.

“I don't know if you're expecting him or not, but this man, ah, sure seems intent on seeing you, Leona. It's put me in a little bit of a quandary. I have an extra room, but I'm not sure if you want him here. And it might be a bit awkward . . .” Her voice drifted off as she looked over her shoulder toward the stairwell, almost as if she were afraid the visitor was behind her.

A horrible, dark feeling of foreboding hit Leona hard. “Did he happen to tell you his name?”

Miss Beverly rocked back on her heels. “He did. His name is Edmund. Do you know him?”

“
Jah
. He is the man I told you about. My, uh, former fiancé.”

Mattie groaned as she started scurrying around the room, gathering her clothes. “I canna even believe that my
bruder
is here. He has a lot of nerve showing up unannounced.”

Beverly's look of bemusement turned to confusion. “I didn't know he was your fiancé.” “

“Edmund is my former fiancé,” Leona bit out. “We recently broke up.” Inwardly, she winced. She hated how flighty and uncaring she sounded, but another part of her felt more than justified in not sharing anything else. She already had her family, Edmund, her girlfriends, and the Lord to hold her accountable. At the moment, trying to appease Miss Beverly as well felt like too much.

The innkeeper shook her head in confusion. “Your former fiancé is also Mattie's brother. Boy, talk about an uncomfortable situation.”

“You don't know the half of it,” Sara muttered.

“All I do know is that he came off the bus looking for the inn and seemed mighty happy to follow me here once I told him that I managed it.” She bit her lip. “Girls, I'm sorry if you didn't want to see him, but I really didn't feel like I had much choice.”

Mattie replied to that one. “No, of course, you didn't. We'll take care of Edmund.”

“I don't know how.” Leona, who had been standing, walked to her twin bed and sat down. “I can't even believe he came here. Mattie, Edmund doesn't even like going to the Walmart in Millersburg because he thinks it's too far. He always goes to Graber's in Sugarcreek.”

Mattie shrugged. “Graber's is a
gut
store. The best around. Everyone knows that. But you're right, Le. My brother, well, he ain't the best traveler. He's kind of a homebody.”

Beverly's expression cleared. Obviously, she was beginning to understand a whole lot more about Leona and Edmund's relationship. “Well, since Edmund isn't the greatest of travelers, I think I had better get down there and make sure he's all right. I would hate for him to think that I forgot about him.” After a pause, she added, “Girls, Edmund does need a place to stay. Do you want me to offer him the small room that just became available this morning?”

Edmund sleeping downstairs? Leona couldn't think of anything worse. “
Nee,
” she blurted, just as the other two girls practically shouted the same thing. Well, at least they were in agreement about that.

“Tell him I'll be down in ten minutes,” Mattie said as she walked to their small closet. “He won't like waiting, but that's okay.”

Eyes dancing, Miss Beverly nodded. “I'll do that. Girls, you all look pretty sleepy. Would you like me to make you a fresh pot of coffee?”

“Oh, yes, please,” Sara said. “We're going to need gallons of coffee to get through this morning.”

“That and a lot of prayer,” Leona murmured after Beverly closed the door behind her. “I cannot even believe Edmund is here.” She felt both irritated and betrayed.

“My brother just keeps getting more and more difficult,” Mattie called from inside the closet. “Don't you worry, Leona. I'm going to take care of this.”

Grabbing a pretty pink dress from a hook on the wall, Leona shook her head. “It's all right, Mattie. I need to talk to him. I don't know why he thought he needed to come to Pinecraft, but I intend to find out myself.”

“We better hurry, then,” Sara said. “I need
kaffi
and lots of it. And then I need some food. And if I know your brother, Mattie, Edmund is going to be in a bad mood if we three keep him waiting for much longer.”

As Leona darted into the bathroom, she knew that Sara was exactly right. Edmund never had liked waiting.

But as she hurried to put on her fresh dress, she decided that she was only hurrying for Sara's sake.

As far as she was concerned, Edmund could wait all day for them. She was through putting his wants ahead of her own.

“N
EVER THOUGHT OF
calling a family meeting this early in the morning, Zack,” Violet said as she walked out onto their parents' back patio with a carafe of hot coffee in her hands.

Looking at Karl, Effie, and their parents, Zack shrugged. “Not my fault that everyone's schedule is so busy. This was the only time everyone could meet.”

Before Violet could dispute that, their mother started passing out cereal bowls. “We're on a time crunch,
kinner
. Pour some cereal and milk and start eating while Zack shares what's on his mind.”

Immediately, Karl poured some cereal into his bowl and Effie's, added milk, then stared hard at Zack. “Anytime now, little brother.”

“Well, it's like this. I think there's something special happening between Leona and me.”

Effie clapped her hands. “I knew it! Every time I've seen you talk to her, you've looked really happy. And she has, too.”

Violet put down her spoon. “I'm happy for you, too, Zack. I really am. But why did we all have to be together to hear this?”

“Because she's only going to be here for a few more days. And since that's the case, I want to be able to see her.”

His father frowned. “I'm still not following you. You are far too old to be asking for permission to date.”

“I know that.” He took a deep breath and said a quick prayer to the Lord to help him find the right words to keep from hurting Effie's feelings. “What I'm trying to say is that I need more time to see her. Time to myself.”

Effie looked down into her cereal bowl. “You mean time without me.”

“I love being with you, Effie. But—”

“But you would like to have some time to yourself,” his mother said quietly.

“And with Leona,
jah
?” Karl added with a small smile.

“
Jah
.” That was exactly right. He wanted to spend time with Leona. She was becoming important to him.

She was
already
important to him.

Zack knew that even if she wasn't ready to start a new relationship now, he would be willing to wait. He'd waited this
long to find someone that he was willing to risk everything for. He knew waiting another few months would be nothing to him.

As long as they both knew that they were going to eventually be together.

He didn't really care whether their relationship was in Ohio or Florida, either. If she didn't want to leave her family and only wanted to live near them, he now realized they could all work together to make that possible. He was starting to realize that he didn't always have to be the one to shoulder his sister's needs.

After waiting a few seconds, and not hearing anyone argue with him, he said, “I'm sorry.”

But instead of accepting his apology, Violet, Karl, and even Effie started chuckling. Why, even his parents looked amused.

“What's so funny?”

“You are, Zack!” Violet exclaimed. “For months, we've all been trying to hint that you didn't have to do everything.”

“Even I've been telling that to ya,” Effie said.

“I brought this up to you just a few days ago, son,” his mother chided. “Don't you remember?”

“I remember.”

Grabbing the cereal box, his father poured a second helping into his bowl. “All we need to do is make some changes to our schedules. It's
gut
that you brought us all together, Zack. In a minute, I'll get out my calendar and see what I can do.”

“And, Mamm and Daed, this means that you are going to have to remember that I'm still a part of the family,” Violet said quietly.

Looking hurt, Mamm curved her hands around her mug. “I've never forgotten, daughter.”

“Then let me help out. I know you're disappointed that I didn't want to be baptized Amish. I understand that you aren't pleased that Henry is Mennonite. But he's a
gut
man, and
wonderful-gut
boyfriend. Please stop acting like I don't want to be with all of you or do my part.”

Mamm and Daed stared at her in shock before their mother jumped to her feet and gave Violet a hug. “I'm sorry, dear. I didn't realize you felt that we'd shut you out. You know we love you.”

“I love you all, too.” Smiling at her sister, Violet said, “So, that means I'm going to get to spend more time with Effie now, right? She's my baby sister, too, you know.”

“And mine,” Karl added. “Look, I know I'm busy, but that doesn't mean I'm too busy to pick up Effie once or twice a week. Or help her with her physical therapy. I can also help around the house. Even I can run a cloth over furniture or wash dishes or help in the garden. I can do that.”

“
Danke,
” Daed said.

“I'm going to talk to the principal at school, too,” Mamm said. “I'm going to ask to get off ninety minutes earlier every day. It shouldn't be a problem since I'm only supposed to help run copies and such.”