Simple Deceit (The Harmony Series 2) (33 page)

John and I exchanged quick glances. He turned away and stared out the window.

“Now about the food you thought you had to beg for,” she said, opening up the refrigerator. “I heard you wanted a meat loaf
sandwich, is that right?”

John had recovered enough to turn and face her. “Yes, ma’am,” he said with a smile. “I’ve had your meat loaf sandwich on my mind all day.”

“How ‘bout some of my homemade potato salad and a big piece of peach pie to go with that?”

I could almost feel John’s contentment rise and fill the room. “That sounds perfect.”

“Everyone about ready?” Not only was Sam clean; he looked incredibly handsome in a black sweater and blue jeans. The sweater highlighted his blond hair and gray eyes. I almost gulped when I saw him, but forced it back. I’d have felt like a cartoon character. Next my tongue would be rolling out of my mouth and my eyes would pop way out of my head. None of those options seemed particularly attractive.

“Let me finish gettin’ this young man somethin’ to eat,” Sweetie admonished. “Then we can get goin’.”

“Hey, you look beautiful,” Sam said to me, his eyes sweeping over me with appreciation.

“Funny, I was going to tell you the same thing.”

He laughed easily. “And Sweetie, you look gorgeous, too. Maybe we’re all too good-looking for Mary’s Kitchen.”

John snorted. “Guess it’s a good thing I’m not going with you guys. I hate to lower the beauty bar.”

“Thank you,” I said sweetly. “We really appreciate that.”

He stuck his tongue out at me but quit paying attention to the rest of us when Sweetie put his plate in front of him. Sweetie’s meat loaf had taken over his brain, and further communication would fall on deaf ears.

“I’m going outside to warm up the truck,” Sam said. “You two ladies join me when you’re done here.”

“Won’t be more than a minute,” Sweetie said while cutting
John a piece of pie big enough for two people.

“As soon as I eat, I’ll take a tour of the orchards, Sam,” John said with his mouth half full.

“That’s great,” Sam replied. “But remember what I said. Once every hour is plenty. You can see almost everything from the back porch. I don’t expect any trouble tonight. Not with you here and the sheriff circling around.”

The expression on John’s face agreed with my feelings. Watching Sheriff Taylor might be the most important part of John’s vigilance. But neither of us said anything.

Sam left to start the truck, while Sweetie made sure John was set up with enough food to feed a small army. While she fussed with him, the phone rang and I picked it up. It was Eric letting us know that everyone had made it home safely. I thanked him and hung up. I still felt uncomfortable with what he’d said to me as he was leaving. I hoped it wouldn’t hurt our working relationship should he find a way to complete the project.

We got our coats and went outside. Fitting the three of us in the front seat was pretty snug, but the arrangement actually offered additional protection against the cold. Maybe the temperature was climbing, but you couldn’t prove it by me. It was still chilly enough to make me wonder if staying home and having a meat loaf sandwich hadn’t been the wiser choice.

The roads were in much better shape than I’d imagined, thanks to Sam and the other men who’d worked so hard to clear away the snow. As Sam had predicted, some of the snow had melted. As the temperature rose, the roads would get even better, although it would be a long time until the snow was gone.

As we drove past the spot where we’d found Sarah, I shuddered involuntarily. I couldn’t help but wonder what would have happened if we hadn’t found her when we did. Gabe and Sarah’s buggy was gone, but I had no idea who had moved it or where it
was. Hopefully it was back at their house. I forced myself to push the thoughts of Sarah from my mind. Tonight was supposed to be a fun break from the tension of the past few days. My mind needed a vacation just as much or more than my body.

Although we had to drive slowly, we made it to downtown Harmony just fine. These streets looked as if they’d received very careful attention. There were quite a few cars parked near Mary’s. I recognized many of them. They belonged to members of Bethel who’d stopped in for dinner before church began at seven. We parked next to Abel’s car.

“He’s here,” I said.

“I’m sure happy to know that poor little baby is back with its mama,” Sweetie said. “I hope things go good for her. Wonder if there’s somethin’ I can do to help.”

“I thought you said someone who left their baby wasn’t much of a mother,” I said. “Now you want to help her? That’s a big change. What happened?”

Sweetie sighed and looked at Sam. “I figgered out that I was just mad at my sister for leavin’ Sam. I don’t know this baby’s mama or why she thought she had to walk away.” She looked at me and smiled. “I’m far from perfect, Gracie. But at least I’m aware of it. I asked God to help me change ‘cause I know I can’t change myself. And you know what? He’s doin’ it. I’ll start to say somethin’ that I wouldn’t have thought about twice a few months ago, and suddenly the Holy Spirit reminds me that my words ain’t right. That I’m gettin’ ready to say somethin’ I shouldn’t. It might take me a bit longer than most to clean up my act ‘cause I been so mean-minded for so long, but God don’t give up on us—ever.”

“Good for you, Sweetie,” I said, hugging her. “I’m proud of you. Very proud of you.” I looked over at Sam, but he seemed preoccupied.

“You both stay in the truck until I get you,” he ordered.

“There’s still some snow and ice near the steps, and I don’t want you slipping and falling.”

He climbed out and came around to the passenger door. First he escorted Sweetie up to the front door of the restaurant and then came back to get me.

“You need to say something encouraging to your aunt,” I said quietly as he helped me out of the truck. “She’s trying so hard to change.”

“Humph,” he grunted. “She’s said stuff like this before. Let’s see how long her newfound personality lasts. Just a couple of days ago she ripped some TV commentator to shreds because she didn’t agree with his politics.”

“Wow. That’s a really negative attitude. How about cutting her a little slack, Mister Self-Righteous?”

He grunted. “Okay, I get the point. You’re right.” We walked up the steps to where Sweetie waited for us.

“Man, I can hardly wait to rip into one of Mary’s rib-eye steaks. Hector does somethin’ to ‘em that makes ‘em so juicy, you think you’re drinkin’ meat instead of eatin’ it.”

As we entered the restaurant, I tried to get the concept of liquid meat out of my mind. Mary spotted us when we came in.

“Hey, I’ve been wondering about all of you. How are you guys?”

Before Sam or I had a chance to open our mouths, Sweetie launched into a diatribe of our experiences over the last few days. By the time we sat down, Mary had been thoroughly briefed. The only things Sweetie didn’t reveal were my bump on the head and our suspicion that the fire that started in the orchard was arson. I was pleased she hadn’t spilled out all our business.

“I’m glad the trees are okay,” she said, “but what about Sarah?”

“She’s fine,” I said, “but we sure were worried at first.”

“She’s such a sweet person,” Mary said with a frown. “I hate
the idea of her being out in that blizzard by herself.”

“Thank God He led us right to her,” Sweetie said. “It was a miracle if you ask me.”

Mary nodded. “Sounds like it.” She took her notepad out of her pocket. “What can I get for you all?”

We placed our drink orders, but I asked Mary to give us more time to decide what we wanted to eat. She left our table and I glanced around the room, looking for Abel. I spotted him across the room sitting with Emily and Hannah. I hadn’t seen either one of them since I got back to town. I excused myself and headed for their table. Abel saw me coming and waved me over.

“Gracie,” he said with a big smile, “I’m so glad to see you. I heard about the fire in Sam and Sweetie’s orchard. Glad everything’s okay.”

“Who told you about that?” I asked, surprised.

Emily grabbed my hand and squeezed it. “It was Sheriff Taylor,” she said. “We ran into him here at lunch. We don’t usually eat out twice in one day like this, but the road to our house is still pretty bad. Abel decided we should hang around town today so we wouldn’t run into any problems getting back for tonight’s service.”

Abel chuckled. “I was as surprised as anyone when he came up to our table to talk to us. I was giving Mary my order when he interrupted and told us about the fire. He seemed very concerned about all of you. Said he intends to keep a watchful eye on Sam’s place.”

“For a minute, I wondered if we were under arrest,” Hannah said, giggling. “He doesn’t like Mennonites, you know.”

“Hannah!” Emily said. “Don’t tell tales. As far as I know, he’s never specifically said he doesn’t like
us
.”

“My wife’s right. I don’t think it’s just Mennonites the man finds so repulsive. I think he feels the same about all faiths. He’s
an equal opportunity heathen.” Abel eyes twinkled and he winked at me.

“Abel! My goodness. Calling a law enforcement official a heathen,” Emily said with a sigh. “I’m glad we’re going to church tonight so you can repent.” Even though she sounded serious, I noticed the sides of her mouth curve up.

“When can we get together to paint?” Hannah asked. Even though I’d only been gone a couple of months, I could see the gorgeous blond-haired, blue-eyed girl maturing right before my eyes. Not only did she possess God-given talent; she’d been blessed with a delicate, almost angelic beauty.

“If the weather holds, we’ll get together this week sometime. How’s that?”

Her face lit up. “That would be wonderful. I’ve missed you, Gracie.”

I leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “I’ve missed you, too, Hannah.”

“Add me to the list,” Emily said with a smile. “Why don’t you come to dinner one night during the week? You and Hannah could paint afterward.”

“I’d love it. Can I call you tomorrow to set it up?”

She squeezed my arm. “That would be wonderful.”

Abel stood to his feet. “If you both will excuse Gracie and me for a moment, I’d like to talk to her privately.”

“You’re always talking privately to people,” Hannah said. Her bottom lip stuck out slightly.

Abel raised one eyebrow and stared at his daughter through narrowed eyes. “You’re right, Hannah. It comes with the territory. I’m a pastor. Maybe you weren’t aware of that.”

She blushed. “I know, I know. But I’d like to have a secret once in a while.”

“Tell you what,” I said. “When we get together, I’ll tell you a
secret about me. As long as you promise to keep it to yourself.”

“Oh, Gracie,” she breathed. “I promise.”

I winked at Emily, who smiled at me. I had no idea what secret I could share with the teenager, so I’d have to do some thinking first. I said good-bye to the women and followed Abel to an empty table.

“I’m almost glad Hannah mentioned secrets, because this will have to be a secret between us for now. The mother’s identity won’t stay quiet for long since people will see her with the baby, but it’s up to her to decide how to tell people.”

“I understand, but boy, Sweetie and Sam are really going to be disappointed.”

He chuckled. “Emily respects my position, but she’s tried once or twice to get me to reveal the truth.”

“You mean Emily doesn’t even know?”

“No. A pastor isn’t any different than a priest or a psychiatrist when it comes to protecting the privacy of our parishioners. The only person I have permission to tell is you.”

“I don’t understand.”

Abel leaned in closer to me. “I told her about the letter and how it had upset you. She felt you should know, and she asked me to apologize to you. Not only for being accused of something you didn’t do, but also for running away from you the night she brought me the baby. She saw you fall down but was too afraid to go back and check on you. She feels bad about it.”

“Please tell her I’m fine. There aren’t any hard feelings. And the letter certainly wasn’t her fault.” I scooted my chair nearer to him. “I don’t suppose the letter writer has also confessed?”

He shook his head. “Sorry. I still have no idea who wrote it. What about you?”

“Not a clue.”

“I’m still hoping we’ll find out one of these days. I keep talking
about the seriousness of gossip and false accusations in my sermons, hoping the culprit will confess. But so far no one has said anything.” He laughed softly. “I think my congregation is getting a little nervous. I was told that the ladies’ Bible study had a real revival last week. They were crying and repenting and carrying on so loudly our outreach committee left their meeting to find out what was wrong.”

I giggled at the picture that popped into my mind.

“Now to the reason I asked to see you.”

His tone turned solemn, and I suddenly felt apprehensive. Was the mother someone I knew? Would I be shocked?

“Not only is the mother almost a child herself, only seventeen, but this past week has been a terrible time for this family. You see, her father just passed away.”

I shook my head, puzzled by his comment. I had no way of knowing who had recently died in Abel’s church. I started to tell him that when the realization exploded in my mind. “Oh my goodness. Do you mean… ?”

“Yes. The baby belongs to Jessica McAllister.”

“Oh, Abel. That poor girl. She just lost her father. How awful.”

“Yes, it is awful,” he agreed. “But there’s more to it than you know.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, let’s just say that Jessica brought the baby to me for protection. Rand McAllister was a very abusive father. She feared for the child and for herself. When Rand found out about the baby, he was furious. Thelma and Jessica had kept her pregnancy a secret right up until a few weeks before the baby’s birth. Rand threatened to kill his daughter and her child unless she figured out a way to get rid of it. He told them he had no intention of supporting Jessica’s illegitimate child.” Abel winced. “Of course, he didn’t use the word
illegitimate
.”

“Boy, he really was an awful man. So after he was found dead, Jessica came to claim the little girl?”