Simple Deceit (The Harmony Series 2) (17 page)

Sam rose from his chair and came over to where I sat sobbing. He reached for my hands and held them. “No, Grace. That’s not what I meant. I mean you don’t need to explain last night. I know
nothing happened. Eric got stuck here, and you gave him a place to stay. That’s it.” He let go of one of my hands and pushed back the hair from my face. “You silly girl,” he said, a tear escaping his eye, “when you started laughing like that, I realized two things. How much stress I’ve put you under, and how ridiculous it was to think you and Eric were…involved.” He took my face in his hands. “I know you, Grace. I know your heart. I was stupid to ever let anything come between us. And you have my word it will never happen again. Never. If you can forgive me for the mistakes I’ve made, then…”

Before he could finish, I kissed him. Then I cried a little. And then I kissed him again.

“I take it that means I’m forgiven,” he said with a crooked smile.

I laid my head on his chest and cried until I couldn’t cry anymore. Except this time it was from relief.

“Why don’t you get cleaned up?” he said softly. “I’m going to see if I can get your electricity back on. Then we’ll attempt to get your car back here.”

I sat up, still sniffling. “I doubt we’ll even be able to find it.”

“It’s stopped snowing, and everyone’s trying to dig out. But if we decide to let the car sit for a while, I’ll take you wherever you need to go, okay?”

“Okay.” I got up and started toward the bathroom.

“Grace?” Sam called out.

I turned around and found him standing near the couch, still smiling at me. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” I choked out. Then I fled to the bathroom before another round of tears began. When I closed the door, the room was pretty dark. I raised the window shade. Sure enough, the snow had come to an end. The world was covered in glistening white. The beauty outside my window certainly wasn’t evident
inside my bathroom. I looked in the mirror and was horrified to find a disheveled woman with a runny red nose, pink eyes, and hair that looked like it hadn’t been brushed anytime during the current century. Besides the way I looked, my behavior over the last few hours had left me feeling drained. I’d gotten nervous giggles before—most people have. But launching into bizarre and uncontrolled hilarity was a new experience. Funny, though. I felt better now. Not just because Sam and I were okay, but because I felt released from the tension that had held me in its grip since I’d come back to Harmony.

I closed my eyes and prayed quietly. “Lord, I don’t know if You sent the laughter—or the tears. But I feel better. Allowing myself to worry so much isn’t much of a testament to my faith in You. I’m sorry. I truly believe You led me to this place, so I intend to trust You to complete what You started. I’ll do a better job of casting my care—if You’ll help me. Show me what You want me to see through everything that’s happened. I know You love Harmony and the people who live here. Let Your perfect will be done. And use me to bring that about. Thank You.”

I took a deep breath and shook myself. Like Sweetie said, God doesn’t send the storm, but without faith in Him and in His goodness, I would certainly end up tossed around…and wet.

After attempting to fix my makeup and hair, I finally felt presentable enough to face Sam. As I left the bathroom, the light suddenly flickered on. I opened the door to the stairs and yelled, “The lights are back!”

“Great!” Sam hollered. “Let me work on this switch just a few more minutes. I want to make sure the connection is tight.”

“Okay.” I decided to run upstairs and change my clothes. When I came downstairs he was standing in the kitchen, drinking a glass of milk.

“Say, I’m starving,” he said. “You have anything here to eat?”

“Well, like I told you, I’m not a great cook, but I can rustle up some bacon and eggs.”

“Sounds wonderful. If you’ll do that, I’ll make the coffee.”

“It’s a deal.”

The chilly kitchen warmed up quickly, and before long we were eating. We talked about the snow and how Buddy had jumped around in it as if it had been sent just for him to play in.

“He’s not that tall,” Sam said, chuckling. “He almost disappeared.”

Sam told me that Sweetie had gone out first thing in the morning to clear the driveway as if the storm had been a personal attack on her. By the time we finished, I felt like things were almost back to normal between Sam and me. I knew we needed to talk more about what had happened, but I wasn’t quite ready to do that yet, and it appeared that Sam felt the same way. Right now, laughing and talking together felt good. Like medicine to my bruised soul.

Finally we decided it was time to brave the outdoors. Sam’s truck started right away. I wanted to make a comment about the old vehicle being more dependable than Eric’s Hummer, but I kept my mouth shut. The less said about Eric the better. At least his huge truck had made some deep tracks we could use to get out of the driveway. Once we got to Faith Street, I realized the road was in pretty good condition.

“This isn’t so bad,” I remarked.

“I stuck a plow on the tractor and went up and down between my house and Ida’s,” Sam said. “See the snow piled up on the side of the road? That was on the street before I moved it.”

“Shouldn’t we check on Ida before we go into town? I’d like to know she’s all right.”

“Already did that. Brought some wood in for her fire and fed Zebediah. Shoveled most of the snow out of his stable and fired up the old woodstove in there so he’d be warm.”

“Wow. You have been busy. What time did you get up this morning?”

He shook his head. “Way too early. I’m tired. But at least I’m not hungry now.”

I smiled. “Well, if you’re happy eating breakfast all day, I’d be glad to cook for you anytime.”

He grinned. “Hey, I’ll just keep Sweetie nearby. That way there’s no pressure on you.”

“You’re a funny, funny man.”

“I know.”

I scooted up closer to him, and not just for warmth. We turned onto Main Street. That road was pretty snow packed. We bounced and slid, almost getting stuck several times. Finally we pulled into Harmony. The town sat silently, no one outside. However, several cars were parked on the street. Most of them still covered with snow. I saw Gabe and Sarah’s buggy in front of their store.

“Gabe and Sarah are in town?”

“Doesn’t look like they went anywhere. Probably stayed the night in the shop rather than try to get home in the storm.”

“I’d like to check on them.”

Sam nodded. “You go ahead. I’m going to see if I can dig your car out.”

I glanced over to see my poor little Bug almost completely covered. I balled up my fist and lightly punched Sam on the arm. “Slug Bug.”

He shook his head and laughed. “Boy, I’m going to be sorry I told you about that game, aren’t I?”

“You betcha.”

I got out of the truck and waded through the snow toward the candle shop. Gabe and Sarah’s horse had been unhooked from the buggy. He’d probably been moved to a nearby stable, out of the cold and snow. When I opened the front door, a wonderful
aroma greeted me. Sarah sat in a chair near the front counter. She smiled when she saw me. “Gracie! I’m so happy you’re home.”

I hugged her. “Me, too. Did you get stuck here last night?”

She grabbed my hand. “Yes. The snow was too much for Molasses.”

I laughed. “Your horse’s name is Molasses?”

She winked at me and lowered her voice to a whisper. “Papa says she’s as slow as molasses but just as sweet. Sometimes I think he worries more about that horse than he does me.”

“I doubt that’s true. By the way, where is he?”

“Where is who?” a deep voice bellowed from behind me. I turned around to find Gabe standing in the doorway that separates the store from the workroom. “Is that Gracie Temple? It’s been so long, I almost forgot what you looked like.”

My relationship with Sarah’s father had improved greatly since we first met, but I had no plans to hug him. Something like that could set us back to where we started. I was really glad to see him, though.

“Well, you weren’t missing much. I saw you at the meeting, but maybe you didn’t see me. I sat in the front.”

Gabe walked over to the counter next to Sarah and put the candle he held in his hand on the glass top. “I guess I did spot you sitting next to Ida Turnbauer.” His frown made it clear something bothered him.

“Did you hear what she had to say?”

He nodded, and the lines in his face deepened. “Yes, I did.”

Sarah and I glanced at each other. She rolled her eyes.

“You didn’t agree with her?” I asked.

“Oh, I agreed with her. I just don’t think it was proper for her to speak.”

Even though I like Gabe, I could feel my blood pressure ratchet up a notch. “Because she’s a woman?”

He raised his eyebrows and stared at me with amusement. “No, not because she’s a woman, although I do believe a man should speak in a situation like that if one is available. But Ida is a widow. She has no man to intercede for her.”

I wanted to go off on a mini tangent and let him know that the only time a man would ever talk for me would happen after I completely lost the power of speech, but I reined myself in. “So you’re not upset because she’s a woman. So what are you upset about?”

“I don’t think Mennonites should get involved in disputes that have to do with the governing of a town. It isn’t our place.”

“But this isn’t about governing anything. It’s about building something that will benefit the town.”

He raised his eyebrows again. “And how will this wonderful new development benefit me?”

I swung my hand around the room. “People will come here to buy candles. To buy Sarah’s stationery and note cards. You’ll make money.”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “Money. That’s what it always comes down to, isn’t it. Man’s greedy desire for money.”

I sighed. Gabe and I had been over this ground many times before. Unfortunately, neither one of us intended to budge.

“Money is the root of all—,” he started.

I shook my finger at him. “Not money. The
love
of money. You know that, Gabe. We’ve been over and over this. Sometimes I think you—”

“Stop that right now,” Sarah said sharply. “You two do this every time you get together. If I didn’t know how much you liked each other…”

“Now who said I liked this skinny little redheaded girl?” Gabe growled, shooting me his fiercest expression.

“You did, Papa,” Sarah said softly. “You said Gracie reminded
you of your sister, Abigail. You said—”

“That’s enough,” Gabe barked. His expression softened as he gazed at his beautiful daughter. “I see I can’t say anything to you in confidence ever again. You love to tell all my secrets.”

“How you feel about Gracie isn’t any secret.” She fastened her large, dark-chocolate brown eyes on me. “And I know you like Papa. Isn’t that right, Gracie?”

“I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I quipped, grinning at Gabe.

He shook his head and held up the candle he’d brought with him into the room. “Now that my daughter has restored peace between us, I’d like to show you one of my newest creations.”

I moved over to where he stood behind the counter and examined the soft buttercream-colored candle he referred to. “This isn’t your hay candle, I hope. I heard it smelled like—”

“It would be advantageous for you to stop right there,” he said. “This town. You make one small mistake and you never hear the end of it.”

Sarah laughed. It was a light, airy sound that made me feel good. “Oh my. It took us a week to get the smell out. I had no idea a little candle could stink that badly.”

“Well, I think I can safely say this candle won’t cause the same reaction.” He held it up near my nose. “What do you think of this?”

I breathed deeply. “Why, it’s honeysuckle. Oh, Gabe. It’s perfect. Beautiful.”

“Is it good enough for you to forget all about the hay-scented candle?”

“Actually, yes. And I intended to get quite a bit of traction out of that.”

“I’m sure you did.” Gabe rolled the candle around in his hands for several seconds before putting it down. He cleared his throat.

“You said you love the smell of honeysuckle. That you would miss it in the winter.”

“Yes, I did. You didn’t. I mean you didn’t…”

“Make this candle for you?” Sarah finished gently. “Yes. Yes, he did. And he named the scent Honeysuckle Grace.”

“You did that for me?” My words came out in a whisper as I forced back tears. This man had been so harsh and unyielding when I’d first met him. He kept Sarah with him at all times, never allowing her out of his sight. And he had no love or trust for any human being. But over the past several months, he’d changed. And now he’d made me a candle. It was too much, and tears coursed down my cheeks.

Gabe looked horrified. “My goodness, girl. It’s just a candle.”

Sarah came around from the other side of the counter and put her arms around me. “Gracie, is something wrong?”

I clung to her. “It’s just…it’s just that things have been so messed up since I got back. I almost forgot how much this town means to me.” I looked past Sarah’s shoulder at her father. “How much everyone here means to me.”

At that moment the shop’s front door opened, and Sam came inside to find me bawling. “For crying out loud, it’s only been a few minutes. What happened?”

I tried to explain but couldn’t get the words out. Sarah patiently tried to tell him my tears were about the candle, but Sam only looked more confused. He shook his head. “I don’t know. Earlier today she was laughing like a maniac. Then she bawled like a baby. Now she’s at it again. I guess I just don’t understand women at all.”

“This is why men must band together,” Gabe said with a sigh. “We need to have rational people around us.”

I let go of Sarah. “You two stop it,” I said sharply. “I just thought the candle was a sweet gesture. Since I got back, I haven’t
had too many
sweet
moments.”

Sam came over and put his arm around me. “I guess that’s true. I’ll tell you what. From here on out I will shower you with sweet moments. Would that make you feel better?”