The Promise of Palm Grove (17 page)

W
atching the sun set while sitting on the beach at Siesta Key was one of Beverly's favorite things to do, and she was delighted to have the opportunity to share it with Jean and Ida.

They'd taken beach chairs, a blanket, and a picnic supper with them for the trip. Beverly had even asked one of her friends from Palm Grove Church to drive them so they wouldn't have to lug everything on the SCAT. The bus was easy enough, but the older she got, the more she appreciated the ease of going to the beach in a car.

Now, as she sat on the sand next to Jean and Ida, the three of them quietly watching the sunset transform the blue sky into a dozen shades of red, orange, and pink, Beverly felt as if she had finally come full circle.

She'd gone from a life in Sugarcreek, where she'd had lots of friends and family surrounding her all the time, to a life in Pinecraft that centered around work. Little by little, the pain of her past had faded and she'd been able to reach out to the people in her life who cared about her.

Now, with Jean's and Ida's visit, Beverly was realizing that
she was strong enough to start seeing these people face-to-face. She hadn't known she was ready. Only by the Lord bringing Jean and Ida to Pinecraft had He shown her that.

“I'm really glad you both came here to see me,” she murmured as they continued to watch the sun slowly fade into the horizon. “It's been a wonderful couple of days.”

“I couldn't agree more,” Jean said. “Now I'm kind of sad that we made plans to go to Disney World, but it's probably for the best.”

“Houseguests and fish, you know,” Ida quipped.

“I don't think your company would ever be that tough to take.”

Jean chuckled. “You never know. Plus, you've got a lot on your mind now that Mr. Wagler has shown up.”

Beverly nodded. She'd told Ida and Jean a little bit about Eric the night before. “It's been on my mind, but I'm okay.”

Wrapping her arms around her knees, Jean said, “That's good to know. Don't worry, dear, I'll fill everyone in about how you are doing.”

“I've been writing lots of letters,” Beverly pointed out.

“
Jah,
but this is different. Everyone is going to want to hear a full report.”

Beverly bit back a smile. She was fairly sure Jean would tell everyone and anyone
all
about how she was doing. “
Danke
.”

Ida clucked her tongue. “Now that it's been brought up . . . what are you going to do about Mr. Wagler?”

These ladies were nothing if not tenacious! “I don't know what I'm going to do about him, or about the inn. I'm not even sure if he wants me to move out right away. I hate the idea of giving up everything to someone who doesn't even care about this place.”

“If you do have to leave the inn, perhaps you should come
home,” Jean ventured. “You might have left Sugarcreek, but I promise everyone there hasn't left you. I bet that once you see the rolling hills and all the familiar sights, you'll be glad you returned.”

Home.
Funny, after only three years, Pinecraft felt like home now. She liked going to the beach. She liked the warmth of the winter and the flowers that constantly bloomed. Most of all, she liked the idea of seeing the friends she'd made who didn't bring with them a whole host of dark memories that she'd rather forget.

She might be wrong, but Beverly couldn't imagine how Marvin's and Regina's betrayal would ever be far from everyone's minds.

But who knew what the Lord had planned for her? If she'd learned anything, it was that His will couldn't always be predicted.

“I don't know what I'll do,” she replied at last. “But when I do, I promise to let you know.”

Shifting, Ida curved her legs and brushed off the sand that had blown onto the fabric of her dark teal dress. “That's all we can ask, I suppose.”

Just as the sun drifted lower, finally dipping into the waves on the horizon, Jean chuckled.

Startled, Beverly turned to her. “What made you laugh?”

“Oh, I was just thinking about those girls and those boys at your inn this morning.”

Beverly grinned. “I didn't know you witnessed all that drama. It was quite the to-do.”

“Who could miss it? Ida and I were in the kitchen, just about to take our cup of
kaffi
into the gathering room when we heard Leona greet that boy.”

“And what words they had! She certainly gave him a mouthful.”

“And then some,” Ida added.

“It was certainly exciting. Like we were watching a play or some such!” Jean exclaimed.

Beverly chuckled because Jean wasn't exactly wrong. Every time she thought one of them was about to back down, things had only gotten worse. “I tell you what, I could not believe it when Zack Kaufmann sauntered in, bringing with him a quart of ripe, red strawberries.”

Jean grinned. “Just like they were roses.”

Ida waved a hand in front of her face. “I was worried that Edmund was going to toss those berries in the trash.”

Beverly started laughing. “Then, when I found out that one of the other girls was the boy's sister! It made everything that happened to me almost pale in comparison.”

“All we needed was popcorn,” Jean said. Peeking over at Beverly, she murmured, “I guess you aren't the only lady with a bit of excitement in her personal life. Or who has had her share of disappointments.”

“This is true,” Beverly said. “This is very true. When does your van come to take you to Orlando?

“Early tomorrow morning.” Ida grinned. “All the guidebooks say to arrive at the park as early as possible.”

Jean winked. “Ida doesn't know this, but I intend for us to hit every roller-coaster there. We've got a busy day planned.”

L
EONA SAT ON
a stone bench on Bahia Vista Street and watched the bus leave. She'd elected to stay out of sight when Mattie and Sara met Edmund for lunch, choosing instead to sit with Zack on the Orange Blossom Inn's back patio. On their
way outside, Leona had washed Zack's berries and deposited them in a thick earthenware bowl.

As they'd enjoyed the sweet fruit, warm from sitting in the morning sun, Leona had noticed that the tenuous bond that had formed between them had grown stronger. Conversation became easy and relaxed, then almost nonexistent as their awareness of one another became more apparent.

When Leona noticed Zack's gaze stray to her lips, she had shivered.

And that was when she had known that she'd made the right decision. No matter what happened with Zack, she'd felt more for him than she ever had with Edmund. Proving that her instincts had been right. No matter how hard she might have tried, she would never have been able to make herself feel that way toward Edmund.

Now, as she watched the rear taillights of the big bus fade into the distance with Edmund safely in one of the seats, she knew without a doubt that their relationship was officially over.

To her dismay, she felt a little bit sad. She hated that she'd caused so much trouble. Hated that the dreams she'd held so tightly a year ago had all unraveled. And she felt guilty about Edmund. Sure, he wasn't the right man for her, but he'd seemed to think that she was the right woman for him. She'd hurt him, and though she supposed there had been no choice, she still felt badly about it.

She was wondering how to deal with that guilt and when to try and smooth things over, when Effie approached.

“Hi, Effie.”

“Hiya, Leona. I was watching the bus leave over at the post office with my sister Violet when I saw you sitting here.”

“Where's your sister now?” Though Effie was twelve, Leona still felt mildly protective of the girl.

She waved toward a group of eight women standing in a circle in front of the post office bulletin board. “Oh, she's still over there, talking to some friends.”

“So you're spending some time with her today?”

“
Jah
. Everyone in the family had a talk with Zack, you see. We all decided he was spending too much time looking after me.”

Leona couldn't decide if Effie looked put out or was simply stating how things were. “He told me he likes to be with you,” she said.

“He told me that, too. But I'm growing up, you see.”

“I imagine you are. But at least you can now spend more time with your sister.”

Effie grinned, obviously happy that Leona understood. “
Jah
. I am glad about that.”

“Effie, I didn't see you cross the street,” a dark-haired woman about Leona's age called out as she walked over to join them. “You should have told me you were going over here. I got worried.”

“I did tell you, Vi.”

“If you did, I didn't hear you.”

“I did. And I thought you heard me.”

“Uh-huh,” the woman said as she reached them. After giving Leona a brief, commiserating look, she said, “I guess this means you're ready to be on your way?”

“Not exactly. I wanted you to meet Leona. Violet, this is Leona.”

Leona got to her feet. “Hi. I'm Leona Weaver. I met Effie at Yoder's the other day.”

“She's the woman I told you about. The woman Zack likes,” Effie whispered, but it wasn't much of a whisper at all.

Violet gazed at her and smiled broadly. “Violet Kaufmann. Zack and Effie's sister.”

“And Karl's, too,” Effie said.

“
Jah
. And Karl's, too.”

“It's nice to meet you.” Then, feeling like she should add something more about herself, she added, “I'm here from Ohio.”

“Oh, I know all about you, I'm afraid.”

“Oh?” Leona had never been one to feel especially uncomfortable around new people, but she was beginning to think that there was a first time for everything. Violet's steady gaze was direct and assessing.

As if she knew how she was behaving, Violet's eyes lit up and she chuckled. “Don't worry. It's nothing bad. In fact, it's all good.”

“I'm surprised anyone had much to say about me.”

“Zack did,” Effie chimed in. “Zack talks about you a lot. All the time, in fact.”

While Leona processed that, Violet said, “Have your ears been burning? You've been quite the topic of conversation in our family this week.”

Leona felt her neck turn red. “I hope not in a bad way.”

“Not at all.”

“We all think you're great,” Effie said. “Well, I mean, me and Zack do. On account of we're the only ones who had met you until now.” Looking pleased, she added, “Now Violet knows you, too.”

Leona smiled.

“You've gotten Zack to finally start thinking about himself, which is a blessing,” Violet added. “I've been after him for years
to remember that he's
part
of a family, instead of thinking that he
is
the family.”

“My
bruder
likes to be in charge. And to help. But he doesn't like to ask for help.”

As Leona thought about how much of a change he'd spurred in her, just by being himself, she knew she had to be as honest as possible. “I'm not sure about how he is with his family, but he's been a great friend to me. Again and again, he's gone out of the way to spend time with me. I'm grateful.”

“I think there's a mighty
gut
reason he's been doing that,” Violet said.

Just as Leona felt her cheeks color, Mattie and Sara walked up. In the nick of time.

After introducing them to Violet and Effie, she knew it was time to move on. “It was nice to see you again, Effie, and to meet you, Violet, but we should probably be on our way now.”

But Violet stopped her with a hand to her arm. “Hey, we're going to have some people over at the house this evening to play cards. Why don't you all come over and join us?”

“Do you think Zack would want that? I don't want to simply show up like an unwelcome surprise.”

Effie waved off her worries. “Don't worry about that. Zack is gonna be real happy that you're there. I know he'll be.”

“But still. We don't want to disrupt your plans.”

“You won't. A bunch of his friends are coming over, too. So there will be a lot of people.”

“His friends?” Mattie asked.

“
Jah
. Daniel and Jeremy for sure. And maybe Abel and Jay.”

To Leona's amusement, Mattie brightened right up. “If you truly would like us there, I think it sounds like fun.”

“We really would love for you to join us. Really. Right, Vi?”

“For sure. Plus, our parents will be around, so they'll be happy to meet you.”

“Karl will, too,” added Effie.

After glancing at her friends and seeing that they looked just as eager to go to the party as she was, Leona nodded. “
Danke
. It sounds like fun. Thank you.”

Violet opened her purse and wrote down their address. “Come over around seven, after supper. We'll have some cookies and
kaffi
. Maybe some pop, too. It's nothing fancy.”

“We'll see you then,” Leona promised before they all said goodbye. Then, walking toward the inn, and once they were about a block away, Leona glanced at Sara and Mattie. “Are you sure that you both are all right with this?”

Sara nodded. “After spending so much time with Edmund, I think all of us are up for some fun. Besides, what could go wrong? We'll go over, eat a cookie, play some cards, and if it feels awkward, we'll leave.”

“That's true.” Leona nodded, but as they walked along the street, smiling at some of the Amish ladies and men who passed them, or were riding by on their bicycles, Leona had a feeling that this trip to Sarasota was becoming suspiciously like a lesson in Murphy's Law.

Whatever could happen, would happen.

And some of it might not be too good, either.