The Restoration (17 page)

Jared reached his hand out to Adam. “It’s nice to meet ya, big brother. Maybe I’ll come by the store sometime and you can tell me what it was like bein’ raised with no mother. Seems a whole lot better than bein’ raised by a mother like mine, though.” Jared jumped up and raced out of the room, flinging the door open so hard it banged against the wall.

Cora looked at Adam, unable to read his expression. “I need to go after him, but I’d like to talk with you more some other time.”

Adam shook his head. “I have nothing more to say to you, Cora. You messed up my life. Now you’d better see if you can patch things up with your other son, or you won’t have a relationship with him, either.”

Tears coursed down Cora’s cheeks as she fled Adam’s office. Not only had she estranged herself from Adam, now Jared was upset with her, as well. She wished she didn’t have to go back to work this afternoon.
Lord, help me. I can’t lose Jared, too.

When Cora left the store, hoping to catch up with Jared, she spotted him getting into a car. It looked like the same vehicle Chad had been driving the night he’d shown up at their house.
But that can’t be—Chad went back to Chicago before Christmas.

When Priscilla left Elaine’s that afternoon, she decided to stop by the Morgans’ to see how David was doing. It had been a few days since he’d told her he wanted to go Amish, so she figured he could have changed his mind by now. Completely changing his lifestyle would not be easy. As Priscilla approached Walt and Letty’s place, Cleo, their little black terrier, raced down the driveway, barking and nipping at Tinker’s hooves. During other visits, the dog had been calm. After greeting her with a few sniffs, the little mutt would return to her doggie bed in the corner of the living room. Maybe this afternoon they’d let her out for some exercise.

As the terrier made circles around the buggy, her barking became more intense. Priscilla’s horse started kicking and thrashing about, which made the dog act crazier.

“Calm down, Tinker.” Priscilla opened her door, and shouted at the dog to stop, but Cleo kept barking and carrying on.

Closing the buggy door, Priscilla gripped the reins and hollered at her horse to stop.

Somehow Priscilla managed to get the gelding and buggy turned up the driveway, but the dog kept nipping, while Tinker continued to kick. When Priscilla thought it couldn’t get any worse, Tinker kicked the terrier, sending the poor pooch flying into the Morgans’ yard. At the same moment, the shaft connecting the horse to her buggy snapped. Priscilla screamed as the horse broke free and her buggy tipped on its side.

Inching her way along the seat to the passenger’s side, Priscilla managed to get the door open and climb out. Her feet had barely touched the ground when David’s grandpa came out of the house. “Are you hurt?” he called, making his way down the driveway as quickly as possible. Fortunately, the snow had been cleared, but it was still slippery in places.

“I think I’m okay.” Priscilla touched her sore elbow. “I may have a few bruises, though.”

“What happened?” Walt asked. “I heard Cleo barking, and when I looked out the window I saw the buggy flipped over and your horse running up the driveway.

Priscilla explained what had happened. “I fear Cleo might be dead.” With the dog quiet, Tinker stood, shaking his mane and pawing a hoof on the ground.

Holding her arm, Priscilla watched as Walt calmly talked to the horse, grabbed the reins, and tied him to a post near the garage. Then he and Priscilla went to check on the dog. They found her in a clump of weeds, unmoving.

Walt bent down to examine Cleo. His somber expression told Priscilla it wasn’t good news.

“I’m afraid she’s dead.” Walt rose to his feet. “I’ll bury her body out back after we get your buggy taken care of.”

“I’m so sorry,” Priscilla sobbed. “I tried to get her and my horse calmed down, but neither of them would listen.”

“It wasn’t your fault. I don’t normally let Cleo outside by herself, but I got sidetracked and wasn’t paying attention.” Walt touched Priscilla’s shoulder. “You’d better come inside with me so Letty can tend to your injuries while I call for help. A friend of mine has a flatbed truck we can put the buggy on. I’ll ask him to haul it over to Miller’s Buggy Shop for repairs.”

Tearfully, Priscilla followed Walt into the house. She was greeted by David, who stood near the door on his crutches.

“I saw what happened out the window, Priscilla.”

“Are you okay?” Letty asked, wide eyed as she joined them.

“I think so, but I’m sorry to say, Cleo is dead, and I feel responsible.”

“It’s not your fault,” Letty said tearfully. “But I’m sure going to miss that spunky little terrier.”

“Come take a seat on the couch.” David nodded toward the living room.

Once they were seated, and Letty had made sure Priscilla had no serious injuries, she left the room to get something for Priscilla to drink and some ice for the bruise on her arm. Letty never said a word, but it broke Priscilla’s heart to see tears in her eyes. She was obviously upset over the loss of her dog but was nice enough not to let on.

Emotionally drained, Priscilla broke down and sobbed. “I came over to see how you were doing and never expected something like this to happen.”

“No one ever expects an accident to occur. It’s why they shake us up so badly.” David put his arm around Priscilla. “I’m glad you weren’t seriously hurt.”

“Me, too.” Within the circle of David’s arm, Priscilla felt safe and cared for. As he gently moved her head toward the crook of his shoulder, his fingers caressed the side of her face. Priscilla’s stomach fluttered.
It must be nerves.

S
omehow Cora made it through the rest of her shift, but when she got home, Jared wasn’t there. Was he so upset that he’d decided not to come home?

Cora sank into a chair at the kitchen table.
Who picked Jared up at Adam’s store? Whoever it was, Jared’s probably with him right now, complaining about what a terrible mother he has.

Cora tapped her fingers on the table. It worried her to think of Jared riding around with one of his friends, going who knew where? If Jared told Scott or any of his friends what he’d learned today, the news would be all over the county that Cora was an unfit mother who used to be Amish and ran out on her kids. Worse yet, if this information got back to Evan, he might use it against her to try and get custody of Jared. She couldn’t worry about herself right now. Except for her sons, it didn’t really matter what others thought of her. Cora just needed to know Jared was okay and would be home soon.

“What am I going to do?” Cora cried. “I’ve messed up so many lives. There’s no way to wipe the slate clean with Adam, and now Jared. How can I make them both understand how sorry I am for all my mistakes?”

Cora dropped her head to the table and wept.
I’m sorry, Lord. I don’t deserve a second chance with Adam or Jared, but if I should get one, I promise I’ll do my best to make up for what I’ve done.

Cora looked up when she heard the back door open then slam shut. A few seconds later, Jared stomped into the kitchen. She wiped her eyes. Jared stood on the other side of the table, staring at her.

“Where have you been?” she asked, tearfully.

“What do you care?”

“Come on, Jared. Let’s try to be civil. I am still your mother, and you don’t need to be rude. Now, I’ll ask you again: Where have you been?”

He shrugged. “Nowhere in particular; just riding around, thinkin’ about all the things you’ve kept from me.”

“Whose car were you in?”

“I was with a friend.”

“It wasn’t Chad, was it, Jared?”

He shook his head then moved over to the refrigerator. “What’s here to eat? Did ya stop by the store to get lunch meat and bread?”

Cora rubbed the bridge of her nose. She’d been so worried about Jared that she’d forgotten to go to the store. “I didn’t pick up any groceries. We can go out for pizza if you like.”

“No, that’s okay. I just wanna go to my room and be left alone.”

“Okay, I’ll run to the store and be back in a little while. Is there anything you’d like me to get?”

“Nope.”

Cora was tempted to engage Jared in more conversation but thought better of it. He obviously needed some time to think about the things she’d told him. Truthfully, she needed to be alone this evening with her thoughts, too.

“Priscilla, you’re limping. What’s wrong?” Mom’s concern was obvious as she looked up when Priscilla entered the house.

“I had an accident with my horse and buggy today. David’s grandpa drove me home and he had my buggy picked up and taken over to Jonah Miller’s shop.”

Mom’s mouth opened wide. “What happened? How bad are you hurt?”

“I’m okay—just a few bumps and bruises.”

“I’m glad you’re not hurt bad, but how did the accident occur?”

“Let’s take a seat in the living room, and I’ll tell you about it.”

As Priscilla explained what had happened, her mother kept interrupting with more questions. By the time Priscilla finished talking, she was exhausted and feeling a little perturbed.
Why couldn’t Mom have just let me explain what happened without asking so many unnecessary questions?

Then Dad came into the house, and Priscilla had to tell the whole story again.

“I’ll go over to Jonah’s buggy shop in the morning to find out how much damage was done to your buggy and what it’s going to cost. I’ll also stop by the Morgans’ and get your horse.” Dad shook his head. “It’s a shame about the Morgans’ dog. I’m sure David’s grandparents are upset.”

“Walt and Letty said they knew it wasn’t my fault. When Walt gave me a ride home, he said their dog had a bad habit of chasing cars, horses, and anything that moves. He also said he had gotten sidetracked today and didn’t realize Cleo was outside by herself.” Priscilla rubbed her head, wishing she could forget the horrible incident.

“We should get them another
hund
,” Mom said.

Dad bobbed his head. “I’ll take care of that in the morning, too.” He looked over at Priscilla. “By the way, Elam came by earlier, wanting to talk to you about New Year’s Eve.”

Priscilla rubbed a throbbing spot on her elbow. “I have to help Elaine host a dinner that night. I’ll let Elam know we can get together on New Year’s Day.”

“He will be disappointed,” Mom interjected.

“I’m disappointed, too, but I won’t leave Elaine in the lurch. She can’t host such a big dinner by herself.”

“You’re right,” Mom agreed. “Now, let me take a look at your elbow and knee. You may need some arnica to help with the pain and swelling.”

Priscilla appreciated her mother’s concern. Someday when she became a mother, she would do the same for her sons or daughters. Of course, she’d have to get married first.

Elam whistled as he made his way to the phone shack, pushing snow aside with a shovel. No one had checked for messages over Christmas, so the path hadn’t been cleaned.

Inside the small building, Elam found a message from Priscilla. He frowned when he heard she’d made plans to help Elaine on New Year’s Eve and couldn’t spend the evening with him.

“I don’t get much time with her anymore,” Elam mumbled. Priscilla had said they could see each other on New Year’s Day, but Elam knew whether he went to her house or she came to his, several family members would be around. Of course, that’s how it was most of the time. The only opportunity he and Priscilla had to be alone was when they went on a buggy ride, which they hadn’t done in a while.